Thermoelectric devices convert temperature gradients into electricity and vice versa. Examples of thermoelectric devices include, but are not limited to, those devices disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/652,449 entitled “Solid State Thermal Engine” by Tanielian, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,774,003, 6,720,704, and 6,680,214 issued to Tavkhelidze et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,214,651 issued to Cox, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,089,311, 5,994,638, 5,675,972, and 5,810,980 issued to Edelson, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,651,760 issued to Cox et al., which application and issued patents are incorporated herein by reference.
A conventional figure of merit for thermoelectric devices is the ZT factor, which takes into account the thermal power, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity and temperature of the device. For many years, the ZT factor of traditional thermoelectric devices has been on the order of 1. Recent advances by the Research Triangle Institute have improved the ZT factor of certain devices up to approximately 2.5, as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,722,140 issued to Venkatasubramanian. Although desirable improvements in the ZT factor of thermoelectric devices have been achieved, in order to make thermoelectric devices more competitive with other types of power generation and cooling systems, further improvement may be needed.